Ethel’s response to “Do you play video games at all?” is totally relatable and also hilarious. And the Ethel/Justine brofist makes me just *so* happy, I don’t know why. Maybe because it felt well-earned even within so few panels? Stay golden, Wr.
(2) Ethel changed for the Pink-Haired Girl. Even if it’s as minor as switching to e-cigs, that’s pretty f’ing huge.
(3) This speaks to me, as someone who has constructed–fuck the metaphor, whose sense of self majorly includes both self-hatred and a reliance on other things (work, friends’ lives, etc) going well to be content. In fact, just the idea given to me that this self-hatred and dependence might be Not Good Enough was enough to send me into a breakdown. But we all have to work with what we have, ne? We all have to hold back the hordes.
Really enjoying the continued match-ups of people in these, Winston. I think your recurring characters shine most as they see their own faults reflected in others, and learn how to cope with themselves. Watching them grow as people like this is great.
It’s a constant reassurance to read through your comix, because each of your characters has thoughts and dreams and fears like me–they each echo my own internalized emotions and thought processes with uncanny accuracy. I feel like you probably relate to them even more than I, or else you’re just a scary-good empathetic individual, but I hope their growth is a reflection of things for you, as well.
You seem like a cool guy, and if it means anything, I think of us as friends, because I don’t know anyone else as relatable and thought-provoking and consistently insightful as you. Keep up the great work, man.
Subnormality: conversations if everyone were always totally honest with complete strangers.
I kid, I kid, that’s not fair or totally precise at all, but maybe just a little precise? The conversations themselves are great and wonderful though, so glad to have the chance to witness these honest stranger-conversations, when real life doesn’t provide me with many (or I don’t seek them out enough or whatever). They really are a very special peak into another world, thank you for making them đ
Listen, and people will tell you the most interesting things.
I once had someone on a bus tell me part of his life story, along with how to modify bicycles into makeshift motorbikes. Another stranger on a regional train was an international student, she was studying at the rural campus of a major university.
A person I met at Uni told me of his time as a conscript [from a country where national service is required at 18], and how attending a fire had put him off instant noodles for life [burning chilli powder is apparently noxious].
An exchange student spoke of their past as a financial trader, and revealed many details of the [then] US Banking crises that only come out in the media months later.
Occurrences such as this are certainly rare, I cannot think of any in the past two years, but they are one of the reasons I became a fan of this comic.
There ‘s one thing I invariably do when I reach the bottom of the page and finish reading – I exhale.
And every frigggin’ time, my first thought is “Damn, I wasn’t breathing. Again.”
This proves way less problematic in the case of shorter comics like today’s but I digress…
What you do here, Winston, is Art.
Capital A.
I’m sure you don’t need me or whoever to tell you, but I wanted to state it anyway.
Another great comic…it’s about time these two met. I wonder if the scary video game Ethel’s describing is the Intellivision console? I think it had the faux wood and telephone cords.
Anyway, I love this comic–I feel like you got it exactly right. Right metaphors, right dialogue, right length, right colors, right ending. Your stuff has been consistently excellent for years now, and consistently improving as well. Nowadays I feel you achieve the sort of perfectly balanced harmonic resonance with your comics–like a tuning fork being struck–that this comic had, with regularity and even ease (or at least the appearance of ease, I’m sure a lotta work goes into this stuff!). I’m so excited to keep following you and see where you go next. May you continue to go from strength to strength!
I wanted to read the comics, but everytime I clicked or right clicked on the leave a comment link/button, it vanished, and I had to grab the link out of the source code for the page to actually get here. Maybe just me, but FYI WR. (chrome win7)
Hi, yeah i know– there was a Chrome update last year that completely messed up my site, so now there’re leaping jpegs everywhere and it’s a major pain in the ass. I just have to find the time to manually go back and fix everything, and that could unfortunately be a while, but it’s on the to-do list at least… Apologies for the annoyance, anyway, and thanks for sticking around regardless.
Thank you so much for this comic. I’ve been struggling to become comfortable with just existing instead of marching towards some far off point, and this really helped a lot. Thank you for your message, and thank you for your art.
Girl with stereotypical male interests has a name now? When did that happen? Or is she the Aoogah girl who hangs out with her blonde friend? I always get those two confused.
Fantastic as always. The sad/awesome thing is I can still name almost all of those silhouettes thanks to the obsession with aircraft I had as a teenager. I approve of your selections!
I think you actually want “jerry rig” rather than “jury rig”. Jury rig is an old term, from the 1700s; jerry rig is the term used since the late 50s, probably as a combination of jerry built and jury rigged.
Everything I read is amazing! Long convos and such and it gives me ideas to draw and share my thoughts aa a way of relaying my knowledge to the world who dares to be set free from the ignorance around them. Such as it is when life thumps me on the head to wake up and smell the roses, I keep your website here in the bookmark section of my chrome browser and checked it out and found more awesome stuff as I cruise thru it. Thanks for the awesomeness!
Dear Winston. I haven’t checked in for quite a few months, and now I find that there were three I hadn’t read. Message 652 enchanted me, and I love it. The newest, muZeuM is heartbreaking for me, and not for the first time I want to reach out and embrace a homeless girl and run a hot bath and make a warm meal for her. Your work always affects me deeply, so I thank you very much, and I leave my comment on this comic because it lifts my spirits, and makes me happy. Once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making things that cause me to feel so sharply.
Virus Comix News 
May 12, 2015 at 2:53 am
Ethel’s response to “Do you play video games at all?” is totally relatable and also hilarious. And the Ethel/Justine brofist makes me just *so* happy, I don’t know why. Maybe because it felt well-earned even within so few panels? Stay golden, Wr.
May 12, 2015 at 3:49 am
(1) When Worlds Collide
(2) Ethel changed for the Pink-Haired Girl. Even if it’s as minor as switching to e-cigs, that’s pretty f’ing huge.
(3) This speaks to me, as someone who has constructed–fuck the metaphor, whose sense of self majorly includes both self-hatred and a reliance on other things (work, friends’ lives, etc) going well to be content. In fact, just the idea given to me that this self-hatred and dependence might be Not Good Enough was enough to send me into a breakdown. But we all have to work with what we have, ne? We all have to hold back the hordes.
May 12, 2015 at 5:09 am
Really enjoying the continued match-ups of people in these, Winston. I think your recurring characters shine most as they see their own faults reflected in others, and learn how to cope with themselves. Watching them grow as people like this is great.
It’s a constant reassurance to read through your comix, because each of your characters has thoughts and dreams and fears like me–they each echo my own internalized emotions and thought processes with uncanny accuracy. I feel like you probably relate to them even more than I, or else you’re just a scary-good empathetic individual, but I hope their growth is a reflection of things for you, as well.
You seem like a cool guy, and if it means anything, I think of us as friends, because I don’t know anyone else as relatable and thought-provoking and consistently insightful as you. Keep up the great work, man.
May 12, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Subnormality: conversations if everyone were always totally honest with complete strangers.
I kid, I kid, that’s not fair or totally precise at all, but maybe just a little precise? The conversations themselves are great and wonderful though, so glad to have the chance to witness these honest stranger-conversations, when real life doesn’t provide me with many (or I don’t seek them out enough or whatever). They really are a very special peak into another world, thank you for making them đ
June 27, 2015 at 7:54 am
Listen, and people will tell you the most interesting things.
I once had someone on a bus tell me part of his life story, along with how to modify bicycles into makeshift motorbikes. Another stranger on a regional train was an international student, she was studying at the rural campus of a major university.
A person I met at Uni told me of his time as a conscript [from a country where national service is required at 18], and how attending a fire had put him off instant noodles for life [burning chilli powder is apparently noxious].
An exchange student spoke of their past as a financial trader, and revealed many details of the [then] US Banking crises that only come out in the media months later.
Occurrences such as this are certainly rare, I cannot think of any in the past two years, but they are one of the reasons I became a fan of this comic.
May 12, 2015 at 3:55 pm
I have no idea how you are so consistently dope but thank you.
May 12, 2015 at 6:30 pm
Hope you have some insane superfans to deliver you food, because this is spot on as usual.
May 13, 2015 at 1:43 pm
There ‘s one thing I invariably do when I reach the bottom of the page and finish reading – I exhale.
And every frigggin’ time, my first thought is “Damn, I wasn’t breathing. Again.”
This proves way less problematic in the case of shorter comics like today’s but I digress…
What you do here, Winston, is Art.
Capital A.
I’m sure you don’t need me or whoever to tell you, but I wanted to state it anyway.
May 13, 2015 at 10:13 pm
Another great comic…it’s about time these two met. I wonder if the scary video game Ethel’s describing is the Intellivision console? I think it had the faux wood and telephone cords.
May 14, 2015 at 1:21 am
Yay! May has arrived, and so has the thrice-yearly Subnormality. Read slowly and savor, for September comes none too soon.
May 14, 2015 at 3:05 am
For some reason, this comic makes up a huge chunk of what I use to keep the zombie hordes at bay. Thank you.
May 14, 2015 at 10:18 am
Delta-wing for life!
May 15, 2015 at 7:08 pm
Fuckin’ a!
May 16, 2015 at 9:42 am
đ
You ever listened to The Mountain Goats, Winston? This comic reminds me a lot of the song “Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sNakKm3Pr0 (The link is to the song)
Anyway, I love this comic–I feel like you got it exactly right. Right metaphors, right dialogue, right length, right colors, right ending. Your stuff has been consistently excellent for years now, and consistently improving as well. Nowadays I feel you achieve the sort of perfectly balanced harmonic resonance with your comics–like a tuning fork being struck–that this comic had, with regularity and even ease (or at least the appearance of ease, I’m sure a lotta work goes into this stuff!). I’m so excited to keep following you and see where you go next. May you continue to go from strength to strength!
May 17, 2015 at 6:28 am
Thanks for including a Canberra!
May 18, 2015 at 3:38 am
One of these things is not like the othersâŠ
Voyager isnât a âwarbird,â itâs an Intrepid-class exploration ship.
May 18, 2015 at 2:36 pm
ty for this comic
May 19, 2015 at 2:18 am
I wanted to read the comics, but everytime I clicked or right clicked on the leave a comment link/button, it vanished, and I had to grab the link out of the source code for the page to actually get here. Maybe just me, but FYI WR. (chrome win7)
June 2, 2015 at 1:31 pm
I was getting that with the next button, it jumps down the page for some reason and you have to scroll and find it again.
June 2, 2015 at 3:34 pm
Hi, yeah i know– there was a Chrome update last year that completely messed up my site, so now there’re leaping jpegs everywhere and it’s a major pain in the ass. I just have to find the time to manually go back and fix everything, and that could unfortunately be a while, but it’s on the to-do list at least… Apologies for the annoyance, anyway, and thanks for sticking around regardless.
May 29, 2015 at 10:24 am
Thank you so much for this comic. I’ve been struggling to become comfortable with just existing instead of marching towards some far off point, and this really helped a lot. Thank you for your message, and thank you for your art.
June 1, 2015 at 1:08 am
Been really strugglling with self confidence issues and similar issues to this of late. Thank you for this.
June 9, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Another Brilliant comic.
I want to say ALL the words and its combinations to you to express how great your art is.
but it’s like wanting to color the ocean with kool-aid.
June 12, 2015 at 9:09 am
”the Ethel/Justine brofist”
Girl with stereotypical male interests has a name now? When did that happen? Or is she the Aoogah girl who hangs out with her blonde friend? I always get those two confused.
June 13, 2015 at 4:23 am
Fantastic as always. The sad/awesome thing is I can still name almost all of those silhouettes thanks to the obsession with aircraft I had as a teenager. I approve of your selections!
June 27, 2015 at 9:43 pm
I think you actually want “jerry rig” rather than “jury rig”. Jury rig is an old term, from the 1700s; jerry rig is the term used since the late 50s, probably as a combination of jerry built and jury rigged.
July 16, 2015 at 7:43 pm
Is that a tiny F-85 Goblin I see?
July 17, 2015 at 10:27 pm
Everything I read is amazing! Long convos and such and it gives me ideas to draw and share my thoughts aa a way of relaying my knowledge to the world who dares to be set free from the ignorance around them. Such as it is when life thumps me on the head to wake up and smell the roses, I keep your website here in the bookmark section of my chrome browser and checked it out and found more awesome stuff as I cruise thru it. Thanks for the awesomeness!
August 6, 2015 at 9:42 am
Dear Winston. I haven’t checked in for quite a few months, and now I find that there were three I hadn’t read. Message 652 enchanted me, and I love it. The newest, muZeuM is heartbreaking for me, and not for the first time I want to reach out and embrace a homeless girl and run a hot bath and make a warm meal for her. Your work always affects me deeply, so I thank you very much, and I leave my comment on this comic because it lifts my spirits, and makes me happy. Once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making things that cause me to feel so sharply.
–Doyle
September 26, 2018 at 1:30 pm
On my 3rd or 4th reread of the entire series and somehow didn’t notice it before but… are J’s pants a light source?